Stocking



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK VILCOMB, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND,`ASSIG`NOR,`BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTTO THE VILCOMB KNI'ITING MACHINE COMPANY, OF

JERSEY CITY, NEY JERSEY.`

STOGKINGe SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 422,868, dated March 4, 1890. Application filed August 28, 1888. Serial No.283,970. (Specimens.)

.To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK W1LcoMB,of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Stockings; and I do hereby declare that the `following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention is an improved stocking, which is 'knitted tubular throughout, having a fashioned leg, gusset, and toe, with a series of straight wales or lines of stitches extending along the back of the leg, the sole of the foot, and the upper part of the toe, the narrowings of the fashioned portions being on the margins of the straight wales. p

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-fL Figure 1 represents a rear view of the stocking with the foot extended. Fig. 2 represents the stocking in side elevation. Fig. 3 is a section on line m a: of Figi. Fig. 4 is a like section on line yy, the full size of the tube being indicated by the dotted lines. Fig. 5 is a section'on line s a'. Fig. 6 represents an end view ofthe tube, and the successive steps in the reduction of the tube being indicated in dotted linesA Fig. 7 also 'shows the end of the tube, it being represented as open in one part of the figure and closed in the other. Fig. S is a view more in detail, showing a portion of the stocking at one of the narrowings.

The stocking thus represented is knit on a straight t-ubulareknitting machine of the general construction shown in Letters Patent of the United States granted me on the 12th day of October, 1886, and numbered 350,795.

Preferably in making the stocking I use eleven transferpoints on each side at one end of the machine in narrowing the leg and foot and the same number at each end in narrowing at the toe; but the number of these transferepoints may be varied without material change in the invention. For the sake of definiteness, however, and only for clearness of illustration,I use definite numbers of stitches in describing the stocking shown in the drawingsA The stocking is begun at the top of theleg with a hundred and ninety-two stitches, and is knit continuously in tubular form down to the line where the narrowing begins for the ankle. At this line the stocking is narrowed by one stitch for each narrowing at desired intervals, and is continued Vuntil there have been thirty-two narrowings in each row. In the section shown in Fig. 4 there are one hundred and twenty-eight stitches in the circumference, this being the narrowest part of the ankle. It will be observed that the narrowing for the ankle is only on one end of the rows of stitches, and this forms the back of the stocking-legB Eleven transfer-points being used on each side, there will be a series of wales or lines of stitches along the back of the leg extending to the upper part of the foot at the toe continuously, except for a break at the heel and at the end of the toe, the narrowing being on the'margins of these wales.

At the line y y is the opening for the heel. This is formed by dropping stitches from a sufficient number of needles from the back to about the middle of the stocking-leg, the stitches on the front of the stocking-leg being left on the needles. After dropping the stitches, as before mentioned, for the heelopening, the work is immediately set up again and the knitting continued, and this leaves the stocking at. this line half severed from the rear. After the work is set up a few rounds are knit straight and then the transfer-points are again brought into action--=eleven on each side at one end, as beforedand the tube is narrowed six times on each side, which reduces it by twelve stitches. This forms the gusset on each side, and the narrowingestitches at this point are still on the margins of the central wales or lines of stitches., The foot is then knit in the form of a tube to the line 2 2 without narrowing As twelve stitches are taken out, this tubular part which forms the foot is one hundred and sixteen stitches in circumL ference.

At the line 2 2 the narrowing for the toe commences. This narrowing is performed on both the under and upper sides of the foot at the toe, eleven transfer-points being used on each side of the machine and at each end of the needle-rows. The tube is narrowed eighteen times on each side and at each end at desired intervals until the toe is properly tapered. This reduces the tube to forty-four stitches, this being the number of the transfer-points, and at this point the knitting ceases. The opening,` in the bottom of this tube is then closed by stitching. The heelpiece, bounded by the lines m n o and o p, is knit separately and connected by the edges thereof to the stocking proper on the line of the heel-opening. The line of stitches at the heel and that heretofore described at the toe form the only seams in the stocking, and as the stocking is knit by transfer-stitches in the narrowing there are no holes left in the nar- 

